Oh, its you again
by Tessie13
Summary: She's never seen him anywhere before. It's crazy exactly how much he means to her when the've only known eachtoher for less than a day. She just hopes she'll see him again, after what she did to him. She hopes he will forgive her -— Austin/Ally, AU
1. Chapter 1

"Excuse me! What do you think you are doing?"

"Picking up this guitar. Isn't it obvious?"

"Can't you read the sign? Only employees are allowed to touch the interments! And besides, you aren't picking it up correctly."

"I've been playing guitar since I learned how to hold things; I think I know how to pick them up."

"Well, you may think that, but clearly, you don't know the proper way."

"Okay, if you're such a know it all, then how do you pick it up?"

"By the base, not the neck. If you hold it by the neck, you are putting stress on it, causing it to slowly break."

"...I guess that does make sense..."

She smiles victoriously, snatching the acoustic out of his hands, and hangs it back on the wall, where it belongs.

"Told you. Now if you are just looking, please leave. I don't need busy bodies crowding up the place. This is our busiest hour of the day."

"Where's the guy who normally works here? I think he is also the owner. But he isn't snippy with customers."

"He's my father, for your information. I take over his shifts during the summer to earn a few dollars."

"Well, that sucks."

She raises her eyebrow questionably.

"Sucks for me; this is my favorite music store. I was planning on coming here, like, all the time. Free piano, you know?"

"Uh, it's not free; and if you touch one key of ANY piano, keyboard, or anything else, you are going to pay for it. In full."

"So to clarify, if I come back here tomorrow, you are going to be working?"

"Your coming back tomorrow? Great."

"Thanks. Nice to meet you too."

"No, I didn't mean it to offend you personally."

"Yeah, well, it kinda did."

"I just am frustrated. I'm on over load for everything these days. Book club, work, cloud watching, socializing, and of course, writing songs."

"You write songs? Are they any good?"

"I think so. At least my best friend likes them. Oh, no sir, don't put your used tissue in the trumpets! Ah, sorry, but I have to go."

"Wait a sec! I didn't catch your name."

"Ugh. Fine, if you must know, I'm Ally Dawson."

"Austin Moon. I'm a singer."

"Yeah, yeah, that's great. Bye!"

And she stomps off to the middle aged man that is currently shoving dirty Kleenex into all the brass instruments.

* * *

_MAYBE I SHOULD GO, GO, GA-GO_  
_OR MAYBE SHOULD I STAY, STAY-AYAY_  
_EITHER WAY, I'LL BE JUMPING UP AND DOWN_  
_SPINNIN' ROUND N' ROUND_  
_AND WHERE WILL YOU BE?_

_YOU'LL BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_DRIVEN CRAZY_  
_BY WANTS AND NEEDS_  
_A-A-OH, A-A-OH, A-A-OH_

_MAYBE THIS IS ME,_  
_AND MAYBE THAT IS YOU_  
_BUT YOU NEVER SAW ME,_  
_LIKE THIS_

_SAW ME BEING CONFIDENT,_  
_STRONGER THAN YOU EVER WANTED ME TO BE_  
_YOU NEVER SAW ME,_  
_BEING WHO I REALLY AM!_

_IM PRETTY SURE I'VE MENTIONED IT_  
_ONCE OR TWICE_  
_BUT I'LL SAY IT A THOUSAND TIMES_

_YOU'LL BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_DRIVEN CRAZY_  
_BY WANTS AND NEEDS_  
_A-A-OH, A-A-OH, A-A-OH_

She sings out in a slow tempo, with her voice pouring into the open air. She sits on the bench, and runs a hand through her hair. She grabs a section of her brunette tresses, and gnaws on it furiously. The song just wasn't flowing right. The next note wouldn't reveal itself. And where the inspiration for the song came from, who knows.

The blond haired boy stands secretly in the door frame, caught in a trance over her talent. All the song needed was some lyric adjustments, and a faster tempo. He remembered her from their run in earlier; the know-it-all girl who didn't approve of himself playing the grand piano downstairs. Not an ideal person to work with. But if it means being able to sing the song, post a video, and become famous, who cares he had to spend some extra time with her?

"Speed it up."

Her head snaps around, and her eyes are slits, directed at him.

"you can't be up here! Its a private practice room. As in, no one else allowed."

He merely shrugs, as if the rules are meant to be broken (in his eyes, rules don't even exist).

"The door was open. And like I said, that song would be, like, amazing if you sped it up and changed some of the lyrics."

"Oh, I suppose you are some great song writer?"

"I never said that. Actually, I'm pretty bad at writing songs."

"pretty bad? Austin, you're horrible at writing songs." A gangly red head walks in, eating a frosted doughnut. The brunette girl jumps at the fact another person heard her singing. And that patch of nerves and tingles was working through her veins. A panic attack was on the way, no doubt.

"And who is this?" she chokes out, trying to take in more than enough air.

"Um, Ally, right?" the singer asks for clarification. She simply nods in response.

"Okay, Ally, this is Dez." Dez flips his hair to a side, and stalks toward the piano bench. He sticks his hand down to the petite girls level.

"Yeah, Dez. Hey! Did you know that your voice is all cool! Maybe I could make a music video for you sometime. I'm Austin's official photographer. Here's my card."

The attack has set in. Her breaths are short and shallow, and her complection is completely white, missing the rosy blush that forms on her cheeks. The thought of a music video makes her extremely light headed. Since she lacks the ability to talk, she rips a piece of paper from her song book and writes down a response;

This is a private room! And this card is just a burger stand advertisement!

Dez's face gets flooded with an expression of obviousness. "Well, duh! The make the BEST cheeseburgers ever! And they are even better off the floor!" The red heads friend smiles and nods in agreement, but then becomes more aware of what is happening to Ally. In an impulse decision, he sits down as close as possible to her on the bench, and wraps an arm around her.

"Ally, Ally are you okay?" Her eyes are welling up with tears and her throat is so tight she is beginning to choke. She barely can shake her head left to right in the new coughing fit.

"Ally! What's the matter, what's going on!" Austin is becoming frantic; he doesn't have the slightest clue why, but to see this new girl in this state is making him feel like screaming and crying and destroying the thing that could ever cause her to be in so much discomfort.

"Dude, maybe a zalien came in here and ate her brain! Maybe she is going through the metamorphosis! Oh, she is going to eat us, next! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" Dez is rambling on, pacing back and fourth. Suddenly, a short Latina girl with perfectly curled hair is in the door way.

"If you want to calm her down, get him to shut up. And get her a bottle of water." she states, and when Dez doesn't stop his rant, she hits him over the head with her purse.

"Uh, hello! I told you she needs water!" The black haired girl shouts, and takes a seat in a near by chair. Austin jumps up, and looks around the room.

"Well, then where is some water!" he really can't shake this feeling of uneasiness. This Dawson girl had a very powerful effect over him, even if he wasn't quite aware of it.

"Down stairs, underneath the counter. There is a mini fridge." The funky girl says, while aimlessly flipping through a magazine. Austin took off down the stairs as soon as she said 'under the counter'. Within seconds he comes flying into the room, handing Ally the water.

"And who exactly are you two?"

"Austin, Dez." Austin says, while pointing to himself and his friend.

"Trish. What set her off?"

"I don't know. I just told her she should speed her song up, and Dez came in and offered to film her in a music video, and-"

"So you both listened to her sing, and she didn't know it?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And then that clown over there asked to make her a video, to post online."

"He never said to post online, but-"

"Well, Austin, Ally hates people watching her preform. Stage fright."

"Why? She has such a great voice."

"Because! Because, okay, Austin? I have my reasons." Ally gasps out, annoyed that the two had been conversing as if she wasn't in the room.

"Are you okay?" he asks in a gentle voice, ignoring the harsh tone she had used.

"I think. I hate those attacks."

"Is this normal?"

"Kinda. They just come and go. I'm used to it." The brown eyed girl shrugs, as if this was a regular routine.

"Um, but, anyway, about the song, I-"

"Oh! Take that, you fat mouse! I just owned you!" The other boy in the room yells out, staring down at his phone. Trish made a point to roll her eyes.

"Look, Austin, thanks for getting me the water, but you shouldn't be up here. And I think you need to get him out before he breaks something." Ally gestures to Dez.

"Uh, okay. See you around?" He asks rather states, because, really, he isn't sure if she wants to ever see him again.

"Bye." She pushes them both out of the door frame, and slams the door. This room is for her and her best friend only; no exceptions.

"Ooooh, Ally, that blond was cute!" Trish exclaimed as soon as Austin was out of earshot.

"Yeah, we'll, I don't think he is anything more than that; just a dumb blond."

"Well, he obviously knows about music, cause he was right about that song."

"You heard me singing too? Oh no, I bet the whole store did! Trish, what am I going to do, they know it was me up here, and-" The raven haired girl sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, cutting of Ally.

"Will you calm yourself? I heard because I was walking up the stairs. And the guys heard because they were eavesdropping. Just us three."

Ally's breathing rate was finally back to normal, and her vision was back to the sharp 20/20. Even the littlest things were setting her off these days; wether she realized it or not, she needed someone besides Trish to mediate herself out.

"So do you really think the song needs work?"

"Yeah! You always write such sad and slow songs; break out and do something happy!"

"Pshh, I write happy songs! And how would you know if they are slow songs? You've only read the lyrics before!"

"But I know you, Ally. And if that Moon kid says you need to speed it up, listen. The public knows best."

Ally takes a minute to think over her friends words. Since when did Trish give such good advice? And if it was best to listen to the public, well, maybe it would be for the best if that singer Austin Moon helped her with this song-just this once.

"Well, what are you waiting for, chicka! Go chase after that hot blond!"

And the girl went flying down the stairs, in pursuit of the boy she just met; if she really hurried, maybe she could find him at the food court, before he leaves for home.

"Austin! Hy, Austin, wait up!" she yells as she cuts through the crowd; Saturdays are always swarming with people.

It's as if he wouldn't have heard his name being called if she wasn't the one shouting it. But when he voice that he heard for the first time only hours ago, the voice that was suddenly very important to him, mets his ears, his head snaps towards it. His eyes immediately lock with hers, and small, sheepish smiles form on both of their faces. Dez feels uncomfortable, standing next to them; he knows that All was calling for Austin and only Austin for a reason.

"Whats up?" he asks, subconsciously wondering over how they have never seen each other before this afternoon; ever. But now it as if the have been best friends since he dawn of time. A rush of confidence and assurance flows through her. He makes her feel relaxed.

"Well, since you are some big songwriter, I figure you would help me fix the tempo on my latest project." Sarcasm is running beneath every word, except for the end.

Austin would never admit it, but he feels extremely flattered that Ally Dawson is asking him to help her write a song.

"Will I be able to use the piano in the practice room?" He asks in a joking tone. Her smile spreads further up her face.

"I think I can let it slide just this once."

"And can I use that rockin' acoustic guitar I saw earlier? The dark red one?" If it is possible, her smile grows even more.

"Thats my favorite guitar in the store, too." A short moment of silence passes, but only for seconds. It's just the need to stare into each others eyes that creates the silence.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" His smile now matches the size of hers. Caught up in the moment, she wraps her hand around his wrist, but also managing to grab some of his palm (not that he minds the thought of her small fingers intertwining with his own). She drags him through the crowd in a rush of excitement. With each step, it seems her hand falls further down into to his own.

Dez stays behind for awhile, half offended that his best friend didn't officially let him tag along. But the other half knows that Austin only gets that goofy smile on his face when he meets a girl. A girl that he likes as more than a friend (Dez is actually very observant, no matter the stupidity that seems to radiate from him. He notices a lot of things people look over. He can read any emotion from any expression, no matter how vague).

* * *

When Austin and Ally make it back to the store, her father is standing in the door way with his arms crossed (Lester decides to ignore the fact that his daughter is full on holding hands with a boy—when she follows his eyes, she drops Austin's hand like it was burning), and instruments are scattered all over the floor: metallic gold trumpets are thrown and broken on the floor in the space right behind the counter, polished violins are in pieces everywhere, with strings here and there as well. The guitars are beyond repair; the chords have been cut, and someone has stabbed holes in the base. Even some of the keyboards keys were ripped out.

"Ally? Care to explain why you weren't working your shift?" Lester is holding back his rage for two reasons: he doesn't want to blow up in front of this new boy, and he is the kind of guy that doesn't dwell in the past. It happened, and he can't change that.

"I'm so sorry dad, I stepped out to go talk to Austin. I wasn't even thinking of what could happen."

"Alls, I think it is pretty obvious that you weren't thinking."

She ducks her head, ashamed. Thousands of dollars, wasted, gone, in less than an hour. If her dad hadn't gotten here when he did, maybe the surviving instruments would have been picked clean. She wonders if the man with the Kleenex helped in ruining the stores inventory.

"How did they even destroy so much?" She asks, while taking baby steps through the rubble, as if a bomb went off, instead of just scavengers.

"I'm not sure how it started. But once the people realized no one was here, they just started stealing, I guess. It must have been a real mad dash in the beginning, to cause this much damage. When I came in, three girls and a boy were fighting over that electric guitar. Told them to put it down, and the boy just cut all the strings. Just 'snip, snip, snip'."

"But this makes no sense. Trish was up stairs when I left. And I was only gone 20 minutes, 30 tops."

Austin has been mute ever since his eyes took in the destruction. He can't imagine dropping an instrument, let alone purposely breaking it. He can't imagine how bad Ally must feel right now. He can't imagine what kind of crazed people would be so chaotic. And above all, he can't figure out what to say to Ally's dad.

"Well, if Trish was still here, why didn't she come down and help with everything."

"Ally! Is that you! I thought I heard my name." The voice of the Latina floats down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm back." Ally barely yells in response. She knows how bad this is.

"Huh?" Trish sticks her head out the door of the practice room. Her eyes grow wide when they take in the damage. "Whoa! What happened out here? And did someone get it on video!" Trish can't help who she is; and the person she is smiles and laughs about the things other people find horrifying or tragic.

"Trish, this isn't funny." Austin scolds. He wonders how Ally's apparent best friend could be so cruel.

"Look, who ever you are, this is hilarious!"

"We met like half hour ago! How could you forget me!"

"Because the only thing someone could remember you by is your face!"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"That you're forgettable!" Trish only says the words because she is angry that someone would scold her over something so funny.

Austin knows he shouldn't take offense to her comment, but as a singer, those words are the ones you never want to hear. They are on repeat in his head, nagging, taking him over. They cause him to start thinking that maybe, just maybe, shes right. Maybe his dad is right. Maybe making it the music business really is impossible. If some random girl calls him forgettable, maybe he should listen. Cause this girl really does seem to know a lot. Austin can feel him self deflate from his usual optimistic personality, to a person that can only feel sorry for themselves.

"Ally, this doesn't seem like a good time." And he just walks out, being a drama queen in everyone else's eyes.

"Wow, thanks, Trish. Thanks for everything you have done today; let my store be trampled and destroyed without even checking on the noise. And don't forget hurting Austin's feelings and not even apologizing. That was really great." And then Ally dramatically walks across the room, and up the stairs. The sound of the practice room door slamming shut haunts the downstairs.

"Can you believe them, Mr. Dawson? Such drama queens." Trish rolls her eyes.

Lester just narrows his eyes at her, in a 'you know what you have to do' manor.

"Ugh! Fine, I'll go...go...apologize to them. But who do I start with?"

"Ally will be here when you get back, but who knows when that Austin boy will be. You better find him before he gets away."

Trish sighs, then leaves the store. She thinks she hears someone softly calling Austin's name, but dismisses the idea. This must be what guilt is like.

"Austin! Austin!" Ally calls out quietly into the darkness; how did it get so late so fast? She texted him seconds ago, telling him to come to the window. And he replied seconds ago, telling her he was on his way.

"Ally! I'm here, but how do I get up there?" He answers, almost at normal volume, but not quite.

"Climb up the tree, silly." she says easily; the night before, if some boy was outside this window asking to come up, she most likely would have called the cops, even if she knew the boy well. She can't see more than a foot in front of her, but never the less, her eyes train towards the area in the foliage that is rustling. Her eyes do catch a flash of his golden hair, but briefly.

When he makes his way up the tree, he sits on a branch close to the window.

"Should I come in, or stay out here?" He asks.

"What do you think?" She responds sarcastically. He smiles back at her, and starts climbing into the open window. Ally has a fleeting thought of how this moment is similar to some cheesy romance novel. And then another fleeting thought comes to her about how weird it is that the two of them are already so close, when they have no reason to be.

"I'm sorry about what Trish said. I get why it hurt. She's just...opinionated."

"It's cool."

"Austin, did you know your really bad at lying." He smiles, looks down, and gently shoves her arm in a playful manor.

"Be quiet. I bet you are too."

"Pshhhh, what? No, no way...I'm super good at lying...I lie all the time..."

"Yeah, okay. Don't even try, Ally." They both smile and laugh. The total atmosphere is comfortable.

"So...you still up for working on that song?" Austin says. He is just dying to put an original song up online.

She looks down at her feet. The song has been the last thing on her mind. "I–I think it is beyond help, Austin. And from what I have heard from that Dez kid, you aren't that great at writing songs."

"I'm not. But from what I hear, you're super awesome at writing them, and I can help. The song can work, trust me."

"Well, then I'm going to show you the proper way to write a song. Tell me, have you ever stayed up all night?"

"Oh course! This one time, me and Dez were at my cousins house, and we were watching this movie called Inception, and–"

"It was more of a rhetorical question."

"Oh." Ally can tell by the look in his eyes that Austin thinks of himself as just some dumb blond. And she doesn't like it.

"Come on. Play the piano with me. See, it starts with just a simple C chord, and branches into a an E flat with D sharp."

They continue to work on the song for about half an hour, and the first time their hands bump, it's Austin who wins the unwritten blushing contest. Yes, earlier they were holding hands, but that was a friendly gesture, a guiding gesture. Here, on the piano, their fingers linger just a little too long, and the attraction is everywhere, consuming the whole room. It's Ally who leans in, and Austin follows. When their lips are an inch, inch and a half tops away from each other, the door flies open and Ally springs back in less than a second, falling onto the floor. It doesn't help that her eyes were closed.

"I search for pretty boy here, for over 30 minutes, and then I find him here, about to kiss my best friend! And I was going to apologize!" Trish screams; she really isn't mad about the whole almost kissing thing, but she would rather be sleeping at this time of the day.

"We weren't about to kiss!" They both yell in defense. "Wait, Trish, did you say that you were going to apologize to Austin?"

"And to you. But not anymore! You guys can continue your smooch fest while I go stomp around in the cold night air." Trish turns and treks down the stairs, filling the whole store with noise; but not before she winks at Ally and casually touches her lips. Touching your lip for Ally and Trish is a signal to put on lip gloss, indirectly meaning that you were about to have some lip action. They had only used the signal a total of two times, both for Trish.

"Can you believe her? She thought we were going to kiss. Pshh, yeah right. I don't even know you." Austin says in a shaky yet steady voice, almost like he is telling himself. Ally can't help but feel a little hurt; she had openly admitted to herself mere seconds ago that she did, in fact, want to kiss Austin Moon.

"Pshh, I know, right? Us, kissing? You're, well, you're...you're Austin Moon!"

Austin is taken back by the remark. He doesn't know how he should take it.

"What does that mean?"

"Guys like Austin Moon don't kiss girls like Ally Dawson. It's basic knowledge." Ally says bitterly, after a long period of silence. She thinks that he was deliberately making her admit the social difference between the two. She thinks he wanted her to squirm and feel like a rotten piece of chewed up and spit out gum on a side walk. He can tell by the way her face fell that she took his question the wrong way.

"What type of guy am I? And who says I can't kiss you if I want?" He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She backs away, seriously hurt now.

"Austin, stop. This isn't funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny!"

"Well, then, stop trying to deliberately hurt me, because it's working and I don't want it to."

"Ally, I would never purposely hurt you. All I'm saying is that I can kiss a girl if I want to, no matter who she is or when we met or who I am."

"You'll regret it."

"I guess we'll find out." Austin leans down to her level, attempting to kiss, but failing. Ally ran to the piano bench and started playing the song again.

"I think we should work again." She says in monotone. Austin rolls his eyes and mutters "of course" to no one in particular.

They mostly work in silence for the rest of the night, debating over good lyrics and tempos that fit and wether or not to add in acoustic guitar with the electric.

"That's it! That's the last lyric!" Austin shouts right after Ally mumbled out a tired suggestion.

"And that's the last note! Eeep!" Ally jumps up, and then jumps up and down, suddenly broken out of her sleepy trance. They hug for a quick moment, but Ally breaks it.

"Let's run it one more time, and then get some sleep." Austin says. He picks up the green electric guitar the managed to find in the ruble down stairs, while she fixes the iPod to play the drum track they had created and sits to play the piano.

_HEY, LOOK OVER THERE_  
_LOOK AT THEM,_  
_LOOK AT THEM TRY TO BE COOL_

_LET'S LAUGH,_  
_ABOUT THAT THING_  
_LET THEM QUESTION,_  
_IF WE'RE SANE_

_CAN YOU THINK OF A BETTER WAY_  
_TO SPEND THE DAY_  
_CAUSE I SURE CAN'T!_

_(guitar roll)_

_MAYBE I SHOULD GO, GO, GA-GO_  
_OR MAYBE SHOULD I STAY, STAY-AYAY_  
_EITHER WAY, I'LL BE_

_JUMPING UP AND DOWN_  
_SPINNIN' ROUND N' ROUND_  
_AND YOU SHOULD BE_  
_RIGHT BESIDE ME_

_YOU'D BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_I'D BE LOST WITHOUT YOU_  
_SO JUST SING ALONG, A-A-OH_  
_A-A-OH, A-A-OH_  
_CAUSE NOTHING COULD GO WRONG_

_HEY, THIS IS ME,_  
_AND HEY, THAT IS YOU_  
_DON'T TRY TO BE_  
_ANYTHING YOUR NOT_  
_CAUSE BABE, IT AIN'T COOL_

_JUST MET, BUT WE'LL IGNORE THAT_  
_I'D BET, WE'LL BE HERE AWHILE_  
_SO JUST STAY, STAY-AHAY_  
_IM PRETTY SURE I'VE MENTIONED IT_  
_ONCE OR TWICE_  
_BUT I'D SAY IT A THOUSAND TIMES_

_YOU'D BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_I'D BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_SO JUST SING ALONG, A-A-OH_  
_A-A-OH, A-A-OH_  
_AND NOTHING WILL GO WRONG_

_FORGET YOUR TROUBLES_  
_JUST STOP YOUR WORRIES_  
_GIRL, YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD A_  
_FIGHTING CHANCE_

_LET'S BE CRAZY_  
_FOR TONIGHT_  
_TOMORROW WE CAN GO BACK_  
_TO OUR BORING LIVES_  
_JUST BE CRAZY, TONIGHT_  
_WITH ME_

_ID BE LOST WITHOUT YOU_  
_YOU'D BE LOST WITHOUT ME_  
_LOST WITHOUT YOU_  
_LOST WITHOUT ME_

"Austin, that was great!"

"It's only great cause you wrote it."

"Come on, you wrote the whole drum thing, and almost half the guitar."

"But you owned the lyrics and piano."

"I wouldn't have been able too if you hadn't helped me."

"Oh, come on. What did I help you with?"

"My inspiration."

He ducks his head in modesty and blushes. It weird, because Austin has never blushed before. Or been modest.

"You've written songs before you met me. You've had other things for inspiration."

"But still, you were the most effecting."

And another blanket or silence covers them: suffocating and breathless, the kind of disaster that has people fleeing.

"Oh crap, it's almost two thirty! My dads going to kill me! Ally, I–I got to go. Sorry. Bye!" And Austin starts running down the stairs, but Ally chases him.

"Wait! Can't you just stay here?" The down stairs lights are almost off, and there is a note on the counter, most likely from her father.

"There's no way now. It's too late. I really got to go. I'm sorry. I'll–I'll call you. Bye." And he runs out the door, and Ally rushes after him, but not going any further than the door frame.

"But wait! You don't even have my—" She cuts herself off, realizing that it is a little too late to shout after him, that he already left. "—number." She kicks a lone pebble away from the door, saddened that this amazing and charming boy came into her life for a few short hours, but left before anything could really start.

* * *

'You've got a friend in me, you've got a friend in me, when the road looks rough ahead, and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed' wakes Austin up in the morning; it's Dez's ringtone.

"Dude! My mommy got me a new video camera! You ready to film a music video?" The really makes Austin wake up. He sits straight up in his bed, and starts combing his hair with his fingers.

"Awesome! I wrote the song last night, with–" Austin swallows hard, not wanting to think about the crazy girl that he worked with for one night, and one night only–"anyway, just be at my house in 10!" And he hangs up and throws the phone on the bed. His shorts fly on and then he is racing down the stairs while pulling his shirt over his head, so he can eat some pancakes for breakfast.

**~oOo~**

"And, cut! That was great Austin! But it would have been better with panda bears."

"That's genius! Dez, write that down!"

"But I don't have a pen." Dez says enthusiastically and while smiling, trying to match Austin's behavior. "Well, anyway, I'm going to go edit this through and upload it!"

"But wait! Dez, my laptop is right here and already on!"

"But does your laptop have dancing gingerbread? I think not!" Austin just shrugs the comment off after a few seconds of curiosity. Dez is and always will be irrational.

But with Dez gone, it gives Austin lots of time to slowly strum Ally's original version of the song, and the new one. This Dawson girl really just won't leave his mind alone.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Don't own, but maybe one day I will (not).**


	2. Chapter 2

"Trish! Oh thank god your here! Look at this music video!" The computer screen showed a tall, handsome, blond boy jumping around his room while playing an electric guitar. Some shots included the boy dancing. While doing all these things, the boy was singing.

"Oooh, that song is HOT! And pretty boy is even hotter when he sings!" Trish says.

"Trish, this isn't funny! See, he is even taking credit for MY song! See, look at the ending credits! It says his name under song writer!"

"Whoa, wait, you mean you wrote the song?"

"Of course I did! Austin Moon could never write a song without me."

"Well, according to this, Helen does."

"What Helen? Helen Jacobs who used to be my lab partner, or the famous Helen Begenerous? And where does it say this?"

"Right there. Helen Begenerous has booked Austin Moon for live TV interview tonight. Catch his first exclusive at 6."

"Oh, that boy, I hate him right now! I should be the one getting the credit!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Trish, I'm going to get revenge! And I'm going to need your help!"

* * *

"Dez! Why aren't you answering! And you know I didn't write that song! What am I supposed to tell Helen! Call me back!" Austin let out a grunt of frustration, and kicked his dressing room's wall. The black screen in the right corner on the ceiling was blinking in bright red letters: FIVE MINUTES TILL SHOW! Meaning in five short minutes, he would have to lie to his fans, to Helen, to the world. If Ally were here, she would know what to do. She would know how to get out of this.

"Mr. Moon, you need to come to the landing area." A man dressed in all black announces in the door way.

"The what?"

The man in black sighs. "The landing is the part of the stage that is blocked from the camera. It is where you enter from."

"Oh, okay. Got it." Austin is really freaking out on the inside, but is trying to exude confidence. One of his most predominant traits is confidence, so it can't really be that hard. He follows the man to the landing, and smiles at every girl he passes. Ally Dawson doesn't own you, he repeats to himself.

All too soon he hears Helen introduce him, and he is forced to go out onto the stage and wave to all the adoring fans wearing his face on a t-shirt.

"Well, Austin, congrats! How does it feel to be an overnight sensation?"

"My video hasn't been up for a whole day yet."

"Sweetie, it's just a phrase. I'm asking how does it feel to have your new music video be viral in such little time?"

"Oh. It feels great. My dad always told me I had a bazzillion to one chance in making it in the music business, so I feel like I proved him wrong." The audience applauds.

"Well, a talented boy like you, how could you not make it! And I bet the ladies are swooning for you!" All the girls in the audience either whistle or cheer.

"Yeah, I guess they are." He sends a smirk out into the crowd.

"Speaking of ladies, is there any girl in particular right now? Come on, Austin, the fans want to know!"

He ducks his head and blushes as mental pictures of Ally flood his brain.

"Well, there is this one girl. She's crazy talented and super nice, but I think for now she wants to stay friends."

"Even after you wrote that song? Who can resist a musician? Wait, was the song written about this girl?"

Austin is very uncomfortable, and the crowd is starting to notice. Ally and the song, wrapped up in one question. Suddenly, the truth is blinding him. He needs to say it, he needs to tell everyone that Ally Dawson wrote the song. And he is going to, but the TV behind them starts to glitch, and suddenly his own figure and Ally's is on the screen, in the Sonic Boom practice room.

It appears this is the security footage from last night, because they both are wearing the same clothes as they were and are bent over the piano.

"Ally, I wish I could just write a song." The TV Austin says.

"Well, your helping me write this one. I would have never thought to use the C major chord."

"Yeah, but I can't write lyrics that match the beat. I mean, you came up with 'let's laugh about that thing, let them question if we are sane' in seconds, and switched the whole chorus without even blinking an eye. You wrote this song, not me."

"Stop being stupid, Austin. You're helping me. Anyway, what should we name it?"

"Ugh, I don't know, how about 'Lost Without You'."

"I like it. See, I would have named it something stupid."

And the video cuts out, and then shows a different video of that short Latina girl, and she is just standing in front of the plants outside Sonic Boom.

"Huh, that's weird, Austin. The name of the song you were claiming that you wrote is called 'Lost Without You', isn't it? And that verse, it sounded like one of the first ones in said song...(gasp) Austin, did you lie? Did Ally Dawson, the girl in that video, really write that song? I think she did." And then the TV screen just turns back to the Helen show back drop.

Austin is rendered speechless. He was just publicly humiliated by this seemingly sweet girl.

"Uh, and with that, we'll take five." Helen says, and then the director yells cut.  
Austin runs backstage to the landing immediately, looking for some water to calm himself down.

"Want some water, stealer?" Is the voice that meets his ears. Ally Dawson is sitting in a director styled chair, sipping a water bottle. Her eyes are burning with betrayal and victory.

"How could you do that to me! I thought you were nice!"

"Well, what did you expect? That I would just sit back, and let you take the credit for the song that I wrote?"

"I didn't mean to steal your credit! It just–"

"I don't want to hear any excuses! I'm sure you have plenty rehearsed, Moon. The point is–"

"Is that you just ruined my very first interview! My very first real shot, Dawson! And I would never do that to you!"

"Try to have some empathy! You would, trust me. You just don't know what it is like, to even truly write a song, let alone have someone else plagiarize it!"

"You know, Ally, I really thought you were different! And if you wanted to confront me, you could've just called, or came over to my house, instead of embarrassing me on live television!"

"Ooh, look at you, using a big word like television. Congrats, you actually do have a brain!"

"Wow. Thanks, Ally, thanks a lot." He starts to walk away, but she rips his shoulder back.

"I'm not done yet! I still deserve an apology!"

"For what! It was Dez who made the mix up in the credits! I had nothing to do with it!"

"But—but—but no, you didn't correct Helen when she was talking about it, you didn't make it right!"

"I was about to, before you and your friends little stunt!"

Ally looks like she is about to cry. She is muttering "No, no no no, this isn't right." She was wrong all along. Austin was going to make it right, but she went and screwed it up. She knows he isn't lying.

"Cut!" The director yells. The teenagers spin around, to find cameras pointed at them. The show was only on commercials for the time Austin ran backstage; as soon as someone reported that a girl was back there, they were live again. The curtains were pulled back, giving a nice clear shot of the argument.

Austin just stomps out of the stage room, without making eye contact with anyone. Ally stands there, not bothering to move out of the cameras view, because that factor hasn't set in yet. She just stands, silently crying.

* * *

"Trish, when do you think she'll be better?" Mr. Dawson asks; they are whispering right outside Ally's bedroom. Ally has been laying in her bed for the past 36 hours, blowing snot into tissues and crying.

"I don't know. All I know is she feels really bad about the whole Austin situation. He's been getting tons of hate mail and stuff."

"I just don't know what to do. If her mother was here, then-"

"Stop, Mr. Dawson. You couldn't have prevented that. And if she hears you, she'll cry even more."

He sighs and puts his face in his hands. "I think you should talk to her. Or get that Austin kid to talk to her."

"Mr. Dawson, that gives me a great idea!" Trish races down the stairs and out the door. All she has to do now is figure out where crazy red heads spend their Thursday afternoons.

* * *

She spots his ginger hair in the sea of people; it figures that they would be going into the corn dog store.

"Hey! Hey you! The freaky ginger!" Dez doesn't turn around, and Trish feels like punching him for not being responsive. She shoves her way up to him, and drags him by the ear away from Austin.

"What do you want from me!" Dez asks in a horrified and over dramatic voice.

"Look, doofus, Ally is really broken up over the whole situation. And I know that dreamy boy will never come and listen to her apologize. So I'm thinking that you could set up hidden cameras in her room, and after one day, you can show the footage to Austin."

"Hmmm, I like it. I can see it now; the dreary landscape, the black and white tuxedo."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yes! You understand!"

"What is wrong with you?"

He leans down to her ear and not so quietly whispers "How do you know about my rash?"

She jerks back from him and says, "Just give me your number so I can text you when to sneak the cameras in."

"I already did." Dez gives his hair a flips, and mimics blowing steam off his hand shaped gun.

"How could you have already put cameras in Ally's room?"

"Duh; when I installed the ones in the practice room at Sonic Boom, I figured her bedroom would need them too!"

"You were the one who put up the security cameras? No wonder Ally didn't recognize them! But I still have to get her out of her room, so you can get the footage from her camera."

"Lure her out with pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes!"

"No, I'll use pickles! Wow, you actually helped! Thanks, ginger."

"All in the days work of-" He strikes a super hero like pose "-Rash man!" And then he runs in the other direction.

* * *

The next day, Trish convinces Ally its time for a shower, and quickly takes the memory cards out of the hidden cameras. Before even saying goodbye to Ally, she rushes to the food court, where herself and Dez agreed to meet.

"Did you bring the stuff?" He asks when she gets there. He is dressed in a black shirt and trench coat, with bright neon yellow skinny jeans.

"Did you bring the laptop?"

"Hey, I asked you first!" He whines.

"Oh my god, I did! Now edit the video through!"

"Why would I edit it?" Trish is seriously considering taking a fork and stabbing this annoying boy in front of her.

"Because you said you needed too!"

"Oh, I did? Well, I don't. The emotions will be so much more raw if it is just a ruff cut."

"Then what are you waiting for! Take it to Austin!"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because he is the one we have to show the videos to!" She screams way louder than she should; but she enjoys the stares she earns. The people should notice her new cheetah leggings, anyway.

"Oh, that Austin!"

"How many Austin's do you know?"

"Just the one." And she drags him by the ear again, because she likes giving him pain (but really, deep down, it's her way of flirting).

* * *

"Austin! I gots a present for you!" Dez says, smiling, as he barges into Austin's room.

"Thanks, Dez, but I'm not in a present mood. About 20 more hate comments have been posted on my video."

"But my present is a video!"

"Oooh! Is it the video of the bunny jumping on a pogo stick! I love that one!"

"Not quite! But really close! Guess again!"

"Can't I just watch them?"

"Fine, if you want to do it the complicated way."

Austin sits up in his bed, and places Dez's laptop on his thighs. He puts the head phones in, and presses play.

A girl that looks very familiar fills up the screen. She is clearly crying very hard, and making horrible wailing noises. Her eyes are bloodshot and red, and her whole face is splotchy and puffy. Tissues liter her bed. She looks like an actress for one of those anti-depressants commercials. In the before medication stage, of course.

"Is that—Is that Ally?"

"Yeah. Trish says she has been like that for four days now."

"She really feels bad, then?"

"Austin, you tell me; have you ever seen a girl cry so hard for so long?"

"No."

"Well then, the answer is yes."

"Huh?"

"Austin, Ally is becoming really depressed about this. Trish said that she is even taking sleeping pills to calm her anxiety."

He sits in silence for a few moments, trying to understand what he just heard. He already learned about a week ago that Ally had something like an anxiety disorder, and he had a hunch that it didn't help her stage fright. But knowing that he was causing her to have attacks daily, that was...hard to hear.

"But how is that my fault?" He says in defense. Really, all he can think about is if Ally is okay, but he isn't quite ready to forgive her. And he doesn't want to feel concerned for a girl that he is supposed to be mad at.

"Austin, this is Ally Dawson we are talking about. And she is the type of person that feels everything so deeply, and anything can send her over the edge."

"How can you possibly know that? We just met her!" Really Austin already knows; he knows his best friend is more observant than people give him credit for. Dez just glares at him; the type of glare that means 'you know what to do so go and do it already'.

"Fine, I'll go talk to her." He feels frustrated yet relieved at the same time; frustrated he has to go and talk to her, but released he gets to go and talk to her. It makes sense in his brain.

"Well, go then! The pickle didn't wait for the egg!" Austin doesn't even have a clue what Dez means, but but he bolts down the stairs and out of the house in record time. It only take him two short seconds to realize he doesn't have directions to Ally's house, and he goes back inside to receive them from his red headed friend.

* * *

_Knock, knock_

Her bedroom door is open, but she doesn't notice him standing in the frame until her brain registers the sound of knocking. Her pale, frail frame snaps in the direction the noise came from.

"Hey," he says gently, as if afraid his words could cut her. She nods to him in response, and manages a choking noise. But her eyes well up with tears and she buries her face in the comforter of her bed.

"How've you been?" He asks. He has never been in a more awkward situation then now. And his question sends her over the edge. She starts wailing and balling, and he stands still for a few seconds. His veins feel like blood isn't flowing, but ice. And the ice numbs everything until he himself feels like crying. The fact that this girl controls him is something he has to learn to adapt to, and fast.

After the seconds of coldness, he walks to the bed and just holds her in his arms; it feels like the natural thing to do. He smoothes her hair and tightens his grip as she loses it even more.

"You—shouldn't—be—here. I'm—I'm—just being—over—over dramatic," She stammers out between sniffles.

"Ally, it's fine. I'll always be here for you." She gives him a half smile, and he gets fully into the bed with her, only not under the covers. "Sleep now, Al. I won't leave."

She has somewhat of a restless sleep. Many times, he thinks she calls out his name, but he pushes away the thought. He marvels about how many years she loses in sleep. How her features soften and relax, and the plain blank expression that sweeps her face clean. It calms him down, too, seeing her at total peace. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, he has some control of her, as well. When she stirs, her eyes are stoney, and lack the liquid happiness that he became so attached to nights ago.

"Thank you, Austin."

"Yeah. No problem." It's awkward again and neither one knows what words to say or exactly where to go from here.

"Wait a second, what day is it?" She asks frantically, sitting straight up. It's clear the blank expression has completely passed. She is back to her panic now, calm later attitude.

"Uh, I think Friday."

"I've missed all my shifts at the store this week! Uh, I have to shower!" She stands up and dives to her dresser, pulling out a random sundress. Then she bolts to the door.

"Wait, what am I suppose to do?"

"Uh, um, watch some TV downstairs, play on my iPad, leave, just something! I gotta go!" She really is in freak out mode. How could she lose her path of a functioning member of society so easily? Maybe the Austin thing was the final blow to built up stress.

Austin feels weird and awkward, just standing in Ally's room while the shower comes on. He thinks about leaving, but doesn't have anywhere better to go and doesn't exactly feel comfortable leaving Ally alone.

He browses through her room for a minute, soaking in the normalcy of it. The normal Ally Dawson feel. The simple singular light fixture in the center of it, brighting the different colored walls; one candy pink, another sea blue, another lavender, and another a spring green. The petite bed shoved up against the blue wall, windows that just about touch the floor next to it. The window shades are plain white and black, protecting the privacy of her room. The closet door neatly shut tight, the dresser drawers perfectly pushed in all the way, evenly.

The only area of the room that actually looks lived in is the foot of her bed. It's overflowing with journals and books and pens, next to a small desk with more books stacked on it. Austin wonders why she doesn't clean the area, but then it hits him; she uses everything over there way to often to keep a system of organization. He can picture he restating up late at night, scribbling out words at a time in those journals. Eagerly flipping another page in a novel, totally and completely consumed in the book.

He scans the room again and decides to head downstairs. It's 6 o'clock, so there's no way he's letting Ally go to work. And her dad still isn't home; he makes a mental note to have Ally check her phone for text messages. He looks around in the fridge for something to make for the two of them. He decides on Mac and Cheese, since it's a classic and no one can resist it. He finds TV trays in a cabinet under the kitchen sink, and sets up the food on the trays, so they can eat and watch a movie or something. He also comes across a bottle of chocolate syrup, and makes chocolate milk. He carries everything over to the living room and sets it on the coffee table. He flips on the TV and does some channel surfing, before stopping on a ghost show.

The commercials are just ending when she walks down the stairs. Her hair is sopping wet and her eyes aren't as blood shot, but still a little bit wider then normal. She doesn't even look like she is walking; more like a drifting.

"I got to get to work. Bye." She says tiredly, and distracted. He can only imagine what going on in her brain.

"Alls, your not going anywhere." This captures her attention. She snaps her head back towards him, and narrows her eyes viciously.

"When did you become the boss of me? I think I want a refund."

"Ally, calm down. It's just to late to go to work. That's all. Just come and sit down. We'll watch a movie together." He steps towards her invitingly, and she turns her back to him.

"I—I feel horrible, Austin. I keep making one mistake after another. I don't know what to do or who to be anymore."

"Well, you won't figure that out in one night. Just let go, Alls. Don't be someone you don't want to be. Just...just...don't find yourself, create yourself." By now he is half a foot away from her and she spins around, and gives him the longest bear hug in the history of he world.

"Thanks, Austin. I really did lose myself for awhile. But now I want to watch some TV and eat...what is that smell? Something cheesy."

"That'd be our dinner. What do you want to watch?"

Her answer comes flying out of her mouth, short and simple. "The Notebook."

"What's that?" She smiles half heartily and sits down on the couch, clicking on the wii remote to turn on Netflix.

"A chick flick." Austin groans and Ally's smile grows.

"Before the movie starts, have you heard anything from your dad?" He sits on the same couch as her, but the opposite end.

"Yeah. He's at my uncles house for the night. Some sort of emergency."

"Emergency? Should you be there? What happened!" Austin gets frantic; he doesn't want Mr. Dawson worried that something happened to Ally, and that's why she's not there.

"It's fine, Austin. An emergency to my Uncle Ron is a flat tire or a shortage on pepsi."

"Oh. Well, get the torture over with," he says, gesturing toward the TV.

Throughout the movie, the two move closer together. Eventually, they are both sharing a blanket, cuddled up together. Even when the movie ends, they don't move. It's Ally who breaks the silence.

"Austin, won't your parents get worried?" She mumbles out into the darkness.

"Yeah, your right. I better go. Are you sure your okay though? I'll be at Sonic Boom first thing in the morning."

"I'm fine, thanks to you."

It's a cold swoop of silence, and after a few minutes of rustling around, the front door opens and Ally calls out one last thing.

"Austin?"

"Yeah, Ally?"

"Thank you for everything. I'm lucky to have you."

Her comment washes more silence over the room. He stands still for awhile till he faintly hears a light snore, and then whispers his departing statement into the room.

"I'm lucky to have you, Ally. I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

She woke up with the sunlight peaking in through the blinds, shining directly in her face. Last nights a blur, and then suddenly one thing pops into her mind:Austin. Austin waiting for her at Sonic Boom. It takes her less than ten minutes to do her normally hour and half morning routine. She's out the door, soaring towards the mall before she can even think to finally turn off the TV that was left on all night.

He's sitting inside the store, waiting for Ally to show up. Her dad let him inside, and he was standing up at a display case, perfecting the trumpets set up. Boxes of new inventory made a fortress in the store. It's a bit awkward, but Lester can see exactly how much this Austin boy cares for his little baby by just a glance in his eyes.

"Do you need any help?" Austin asks, seeing that the older man was having trouble lifting a rather large box labeled drum set on the side.

"That'd be great! Thanks!" Ad just like that, Mr. Dawson escapes up the stairs into his private office. Austin doubted how cunning the man that told some of the worst pun jokes in the history of the world could be.

She shows up after he sets up a whole row of glossy acoustic guitars on the wall. She flips the closed sign to open, saying that if the store didn't open soon then most regulars would end up abandoning their loyalty, and they would lose a lot of their monthly income. Well. More than they already had.

It takes mere minutes before the store is crowded with people. Bows are still everywhere, but there is enough instruments out for people to be able to shop. A little boy with thick glasses and crooked teeth runs in, straight to the counter, holding a flute.

"Ally, I'm here for my tuba lesson!" The boy slurs out, smiling widely.

"Nelson, why would you bring your flute to your tube lesson? And I thought we switched tuba for piano? And I thought that lesson was every other Monday."

"Aw, narks. But we can still hang out, right?"

Austin is right next to Ally, raising both eyebrows and looking a little jealous, with a hint of the look you get when you are holding your tongue. Almost like he wants to defend Ally from this strange boy.

"Uh, sorry, uh, Nelson, but I already got Ally booked for the day.. He slides an arm around her neck to add effect.

"I'll be back," Nelson says, while gesturing to his own eyes with two fingers, and to Austin's eyes with the same two fingers.

"Aw, your the jealous type," Ally says teasingly. She moves her head more into Austin's shoulder, but he pulls back.

"Am not."

"Are too! You looked like you were going to stab the poor kid!"

"I wouldn't do that!"

"He has a harmless crush, Austin!" it's more of a playful, silly fight than a real one.

"Well people can't do that!"

"Can't do what?"

"Crush on my girl!" Austin says it a little bit louder than necessary. Ally is taken aback, and after a moment of a confused and analyzing look, she drags him up into the practice room. She shuts the door behind her, and gets a good foot away from Austin's face.

"So I'm your girl now, Moon?"

It's an awkward moment of blushing and putting a hand on the back of his neck, embarrassed, before Ally breaks out laughing.

"Calm down, Austin!" She smiles a really big smile, and slides her hands into his. "Did you ever think that I might want to be your girl?"

It's just the perfect moment for them; it's the one the'll look back on years from now and be proud of. It's Austin who plays on the attraction thats swimming around them; it's he who leans in and plants the kiss on her lips. It's a second of frozen, then they both relax, and mold together. It's not a full on make out session, but it's more than a simple kiss. After seconds of lip locking, they pull apart.

"So...?"

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm falling really hard for you."

* * *

**A/N: Hello! This was my first piece in this FanFiction archive, but I wanted to split into two chapters, cause it seemed a little too long for just one. So, I re-posted it. I'm in love with this show. Okay, to make it clear: I wrote the song lyrics included, so they are not in the public domian. Not breaking any site rules. I need reviews, so if you would please leave me one, I'll be happy to review one of your stories.**

**~Tessie**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, but maybe one day I will (not).**


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